


Life of a Superhero, Junior Grade

by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Female Friendship, Found Families, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Once Upon a Mom, Yuletide 2019, day in the life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21811942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedwords/pseuds/Rachael%20Sabotini
Summary: Fortunately, this was Tuesday night training, not a real villain-chasing experience.
Relationships: Helen "Elastigirl" Parr & Karen "Voyd"
Comments: 27
Kudos: 72
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Life of a Superhero, Junior Grade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sinesofinsanity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinesofinsanity/gifts).



Gravel crunched under her boots as Voyd made her way through the maze of warehouses, looking for Ollie the Artist. Each time she made a sound, Voyd winced, thinking about the way her dad would have frowned at her for being out here in a supersuit rather than how loud her steps were. She needed to work on walking silently when she couldn't use a void to move between locations.

Fortunately, this was Tuesday night training, not a real villain-chasing experience. Ollie -- Olivia -- was one of the post-accord superheroes. There were about a dozen that lived in and around New Urbem, so they got together every other week to work out with each other and hone their control over their powers. Sometimes they'd develop new weapons or explore new uses for their powers, and then try it out with other members of the team.

Second Tuesday of the month, they'd draw lots-- and tonight, Voyd had drawn Ollie. It wasn't a bad match: Ollie was new to the super group and a mad scientist type, so Voyd hoped Ollie would bring out her best toys and try to impress. At least she hadn't drawn Brick again or Reflux or Screech. Argh. They'd been together the longest, without being one of the pre-accord supers. They were all recruited at the same time and knew each other's secret identities, how they got their powers, and the extent of what each of them could do.

Yet Screech and Reflux never stopped talking about it. Sometimes she just wanted to put a tiny void through a boot or glove or something, just to get them to shut up.

She wouldn't do it though. She didn't even want to think about practicing stuff like that. "Muscle memory," she grumbled, mentally hearing her dad's voice. "Focus, Karen. Control the ball and you can control the game. "

Why did her mind keep bringing him into these sessions? He hated that she was a super, so he would have hated her training like this. It wasn't fair that she couldn't just shove all of the bad memories about her parents through a void and keep only the good ones around.

Practicing putting holes in her memories wouldn't be good, just like it wouldn't be good to practice putting holes in her teammates. She knew that, but it was just so tempting at times. Still, it wasn't like she had a lot of friends outside of her life as a super--she should try to keep the ones she had.

Karen focused on her surroundings and listened hard for any signs that Ollie was around. Up ahead on the left, she thought she heard the gentle _woosh_ of an aerosol can. Had to be Ollie. Running as softly as she could, Karen stepped into the deepest part of the shadows trying to get a line of sight to her opponent before she could be tagged.

Ollie was completely absorbed in what she was doing. She'd pick up a can, spray the wall, and then look at it for a few seconds before picking the can up again.

Karen drew in closer. Oh, this was too easy. She could try creating a void barely bigger than the spray can, and let Ollie fumble around a bit trying to find it. It would be funny! All she needed to do was open a little hole and -- oh crap.

Ollie shifted as the void started to manifest. Karen momentarily freaked, imagining her void nipping out a bit of Ollie along with the spray can. Horrified by the thought, she immediately shutdown her powers to stop the void from opening.

Somehow she couldn't think fast enough to shut the damn thing off, and a pinlight of void went right through the can. Instantly, paint sprayed out all over Ollie, her mural, and all over Karen too.

Ewww. It didn't hurt or anything, but there went her night. The supersuit was a Galbaki original, commissioned by the Deavers before Evelyn's secret evil plan was revealed. She had no idea what the suit was made of, but it was gonna be just a pain to clean up. "You okay, Ollie?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Ollie's eyes widened as Karen peeled herself out of the shadows. "What about you, Voyd?"

"Fine." Karen wiped the goop off her chest. "A bit embarrassed, that's all."

"Well, that embarrassment might get a little worse." Ollie took a deep breath and her words came out in a rush. "Yoursuitismeltinginspots. Your costume must have been susceptible to organic solvents."

"What?"

"Your suit is melting." Ollie shook her head. "I am so sorry. You have to believe that I wouldn't do anything to you deliberately."

"Oh, biscuits," Karen said, horrified by the small holes in the fabric that spotted her chest and her thighs. She stuck a finger into one, and yeah, the fabric was damaged. "I don't have anything else to wear."

Ollie rubbed her hand over her cropped dark hair. "Wait. I think I have a sweater in my bag. I'll dig it out for you. And I could give you a lift home if you need it."

"I'm good. I'll void it," Karen said. "Double voids are hard, so I prefer to walk a few steps between them. A sweater would be great if you think it would fit." She looked dubiously at Ollie, who was probably a half a foot shorter than she was and a lot more curvy.

"Trust me, it'll be fine. I buy the double extra large so it covers my butt." She dashed over to a large duffel that Karen hadn't noticed before and dug around, spray cans, wire, batteries, chisels and everything else she kept there clinking together as she looked. "Ah-ha! Here, catch this."

She tossed the wad of fabric at Karen, who easily grabbed it out of the air. Score one for all of the t-ball and Little League she'd played as a child. "Thanks." She tugged the bright red sweatshirt down around her, trying not to notice Elastigirl's masked face emblazoned on the front. "Okay if I get it back to you next week?"

"Sure!" Ollie nodded exuberantly, fistbumping her. "It's a date."

Karen determinedly smiled as she gave Ollie a cheerful wave, the smile fading before she created the first of the many voids needed to get her home.

* * *

Showered and dressed in her bright-lemon-yellow PJs, Karen settled down at her desk to inspect her damaged costume. The work light revealed melted and frayed fabric, pinpoint dots and large blobs that looked more like concrete than fabric. She scraped at one, digging in with her fingernails to pull it away as her breath got all knotted up in her chest. The Deavers had had this specially made for her by Alexander Galbaki, when she joined the super initiative at Devtech. She wasn't going to be able to fix this.

Snapping off the light, Karen pushed herself back from the small kitchen table. She needed tea. This was terrible. She couldn't afford a new suit. Her salary as a junior grade superhero wasn't enough to cover the costs of a big-name designer, and all of the little name designers had huge waiting lists now that supers were out in the open.

"Think, Karen. Think," she muttered to herself, picking up a cup and juggling it from void to void. There had to be some alternative that got her a good costume fast. She was lucky that she didn't change shape when she used her powers, and didn't need any sort of special fabric to counter the effects of what she could do.

"Maybe I can do it." Distractedly, she set the tea cup back on the kitchen counter. She just needed to take another look at it and try again.

She was always good at trying it again.

Snapping the light back on, she settled the costume in her lap and turned it over and over under the bright light, looking at the seams and how it was put together. Under close examination, it wasn't that great of a job. Boy, the Deavers had been ripped off. Of course she was no expert, but she'd helped her mom sew costumes for church pageants, and this looked more like it had been glued together, rather than sewn.

Maybe it was supposed to, though. Her experience was with hand stitching stuff that wasn't meant to last, along with a little bit of embroidery. Her dad thought the fine motor control would be good for her pitching arm. Was a superhero costume like a tablecloth and curtains, or like darning up a hole here and there? Really, a form-fitted costume would require tailoring skills and a real sewing machine, and she had no access to either a tailor or a sewing machine.

Maybe that should go on the next super initiative agenda. How to get costumes for supers who couldn't afford one of their own.

"Why is this so hard?" she groused at the fabric, then tossed it onto the table, knocking Ollie's sweatshirt over the edge in the process.

"Oh crumbs. Sorry," she said. Feeling guilty about treating someone else's stuff so poorly, she carefully folded it up and put it back on the table, smoothing out Elastigirl's smiling face.

She could call Elastigirl, maybe. She was a senior superhero, and she had been one before the super prohibition was in place. Even though her and her family’s costumes were made exclusively by Edna Mode, she might have some ideas about what to do. Maybe she knew someone who had a sewing machine, or...or...or maybe she had one from before prohibition.

Karen scrunched up her face and shook her head emphatically. She promised herself she was never going to use her relationship with the Incredibles frivolously. But it wasn't like she could call her own mom. It was three years, six months, and twelve days since she had even tried to speak to her parents.

Touching the phone made her break out into a cold sweat. She knew the number, and almost -- almost -- got it right the first time. While it rang, she mentally rehearsed what she would say so that she wouldn't make an idiot of herself.

All of which she forgot the moment Elastigirl was on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi! Yeah, uhm, hi. This is Karen -- Voyd -- and uh..."

"Hi, Karen. I thought it might be you. Not many people have our super secure family number."

"Oh! This is the family number? I got it from Violet, so is it okay that I called?"

"Absolutely! I should have given you the number earlier. You're practically family, you know."

Karen felt completely at sea over being included with the Incredibles. "I am? Really? Oh, wow. That's terrific. I don't talk to my own family, so it's really nice that you think of me as part of yours."

"You don't talk to your folks?"

Karen hesitated. She did not want to discuss her parents. "Would you mind if I came over tomorrow? I need some advice."

"Sure. You want to come by for lunch? I was just going to warm up some leftovers for myself, as Bob's taking Jack-Jack to the zoo. Get some father and son bonding time."

Karen's stomach growled. She did love Elastigirl's cooking. "Sounds great. Be there around noon."

"See you then."

Karen hung up, her heart pounding. Talking with Elastigirl was so different from talking with her mom, who had always wanted to know every detail of what she did and said sweet but creepy things like 'I just want to swallow you whole so I'll always have you with me.'

She still had nightmares about it, even though she knew her mom meant well. Hopefully she would be able to sleep well tonight.

* * *

The path to the Incredibles’ home was very familiar. Evelyn had guided them there as part of her evil plan, but after she was captured, Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible had hosted a few dinners with the new supers. Karen enjoyed them; they were like traditional family dinners that other people might have had, ones where people talked and laughed and joked around a lot. She wished she could have enjoyed those sorts of meals growing up.

To distract herself, she tried out a few double voids on her way over to the house, and got a couple that were okay and one that was almost perfect. They were all good voids, easy to step through, and overall, the experiment cut the trip time to around five minutes.

"Karen! Come on in." Elastigirl held out her arms like she was looking for a hug, and Karen couldn't help but fall into them. They'd come so far since that first awkward meeting, and Karen could actually talk to her now. "It's okay, honey. What happened?"

Karen took a step back and held up a large sack. "My costume melted."

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Karen shrugged. She felt so stupid about this. "I wasn't on patrol or anything. It was just training."

"Doesn't matter. I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Elastigirl scooped Karen in beside her and closed the door. It felt nice, like when her mom had scooped her up as a kid, before she got all creepy. "Come on, let's get you some food and you can tell me about it."

Every time she visited, Karen found something new to marvel at. Today, it was the way rain streaked down the huge windows, making the backyard look like a movie set. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Elastigirl."

"I'm Helen at home, honey. The kids are in school, so it's just me at the moment. I have to admit, it's a bit too quiet, even though I like having time away from the rest of the family at times."

"Tell me about it," Karen said, rubbing her arms. She preferred living in a completely different state from her parents, halfway across the country.

Smiling, Elastigirl circled around the kitchen to the fridge. "It's not bad for Bob either." She plucked out a plate of meatloaf, and stretched out her arm to grab some bread from the cupboard. "Meatloaf sandwiches good?"

"Perfect," said Karen. "I never make meatloaf." Generally she ate takeaway or heated soup. She didn't try anything that took a lot of time or preparation to cook.

Elastigirl assembled the sandwiches -- complete with lettuce and tomato and a side of chips -- then poured herself a cup of coffee. "You can eat and talk, can't you?" she said as she set the food on the table.

"Sure." Karen hastily swallowed the bite of meatloaf she'd taken. "It's really good."

"Thanks," she said as she took a bite of her own sandwich. "Okay, then. Spill. How did your suit get melted?"

"I was out training with Ollie the Artist last night..." The story wasn't that long, but by the time Karen finished, her plate was empty. "I'm really worried about it. I can't go on patrol without one. I feel like I can't be a super without the costume."

Elastigirl tsked. "Once a super, always a super. Dressed in jeans or Galbaki, a super will do the right thing. You did that before you got the costume, right?"

"I tried, anyway." She picked up her plate and dumped it in the sink.

"What was your first save?"

Karen closed her eyes, trying not to visualize what happened. "My dog ran into traffic, and I created a void to pull him into the yard."

"See? And I bet you didn't have on anything super back then."

Karen got very quiet. "No, no costume." Just shorts and a t-shirt, and her dog survived. Her dad freaked out and her mom refused to let her outside for a week, but it was worth it.

"Anyway, the Galbaki costumes were crap. Mine came apart in the shipboard brawl, before I went after Evelyn. I can recommend a couple of good designers--"

Karen wanted to sink through the floor. "I can't afford one. I thought I could just, you know, pick up some fabric and use the old suit as a model to make a new one."

"You might be able to get away with it, as your powers are self-contained. They might not have your usual colors though, and the insignia might be tough to re-create."

"I'll do a new one. It's not like I have that much invested in this one. Devtech designed it."

"And you'll need a sewing machine, right?"

"Yes, that's it exactly!"

"I think I can work something out. I don't have one of my own, but maybe a friend would let you borrow hers."

"Please? I'm desperate. No one I know sews, and I'm kinda stuck without a costume."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Now, tell me why you aren't speaking to your folks." Elastigirl's gaze was sharp and focused, just as she was when she was on a criminal's trail. "Seems like there's more of a story there."

Karen internally sighed. She'd known she wasn't going to get out of this. "They don't like the super thing." Boy, was that an understatement. Her parents had never been comfortable with how much she’d loved Elastigirl when she was a child, and when her powers showed up, boy howdy, had they made her feel terrible about it. When supers became illegal, they’d practically locked her in the basement until she promised not to use them, and spied on her constantly to make sure she behaved "normally" at all times. "It was kind of hard for me when I was a kid."

"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Elastigirl's voice had never sounded so cold.

"No, no, nothing like that. They were great, you know? A little overprotective is all. Dad had me join Little League to help with my motor control, and Mom made me a costume to play pretend in." She hadn't been very good at baseball, but it taught her to practice. Her dad said practice would make her pitching better, give her more control, and look! Here she was. Still practicing today. "They were just so...smothering."

"Really."

"Yeah, they had plans for my future. They wanted me to stay in Hillsdale, live at home, and spend a couple of years doing the basics at community college until I figured out what to do. Dad didn't think it was safe to live anywhere else." Shaking her head, Karen said, "They just never understood that I already knew what I wanted to do. When I said I wanted to be a superhero, they heard that I wanted to be a criminal. It just didn't work out. I pretty much walked out after high school and I've never been back."

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry." She stretched out and squeezed Karen's hand.

"It's okay. I guess now that supers are legal, I should reach out to them again."

"Maybe. Give it some time. It's hard to come back from a break like that."

"I've tried writing letters, and I've called them a couple of times. They don't respond." Karen was saved from the rest of the discussion by the high-pitched whine of an emergency tone.

"That's the Jack-Jack alarm!" Elastigirl said as she bolted from the table. "Something must be wrong at the zoo." She grabbed Karen's arm. "There's a sidecar on the Elasticycle. Pile in, and you can use your void powers to jump us there faster. I just have to do a quick change, then I'll meet you in the garage."

"Uh..." Karen glanced down at her clothing. Okay, so Elastigirl was right. Not having a costume wasn't going to keep her out of the fight. "Is there a spare mask somewhere?"

"In the sidecar," Elastigirl yelled over her shoulder. "Should fit fine. I keep a couple of spares there for the kids."

Karen ran for the garage, wondering if she was ever going to meet the "ready for anything" high bar set by Elastigirl.

* * *

The zoo was in chaos as people fled out into the parking lot. According to the loudspeakers, some of the animals were loose but Mr. Incredible was rounding them up and in pursuit of the perpetrator.

Elastigirl gave a heartfelt groan. "Oh, Jack-Jack."

"At least it's not a supervillain," Karen said. "Come on, let's go. We should be able to get this shut down quickly." She shoved Violet's mask into her back pocket; things were so crazy, no one would notice her unless she drew attention to herself, even though she was unusually tall and had teal, asymmetrical hair.

The distant roar of a lion drew Elastigirl like a magnet, while Karen ran down the paths looking for Mr. Incredible and Jack-Jack. Along the way she passed upended concessions carts, escaped balloons, a couple of squirrel monkeys, some giraffes and a sloth making a break for it. All of that looked like it could be handled later.

She spotted Mr. Incredible pushing a stroller and chasing a tiny, red-suited tornado when she got to the penguin exhibit. Whenever Mr. Incredible got close enough to grab him, Jack-Jack would wink out, reappearing and giggling a few feet away. It was like he was jumping in and out of some other dimension, and finding the whole thing hilarious.

A penguin winked out with Jack-Jack, waddling back toward the enclosure once they both reappeared. Mr. Incredible picked up the penguin and moved it away from Jack-Jack as Karen closed in to get a better look.

Jack-Jack started running in circles around the penguin enclosure, and Karen noticed a water bucket up on a platform at the far end of the outdoor pool. If Jack-Jack got close enough, she could try creating a series of ultra small voids in the bucket, smaller even than the one she tried to grab Ollie's spray can with. Small, fast voids would puncture it and spill the water out over Jack-Jack. Hopefully that would distract him, and give Mr. Incredible a chance to scoop up the child.

As Jack-Jack got closer to the platform, Karen centered herself and concentrated, not giving herself any time to get distracted. She would need to force the portals to open rapidly, one after another as soon as Jack-Jack hit the right place. Waiting like this was hard, and she was sweating and her muscles trembling when Jack-Jack finally stood under the bucket.

Plink-plink-plink. The water she wanted sprayed out, momentarily stopping Jack-Jack in his tracks as he looked around to see what was happening.

"Gotcha!" Mr. Incredible yelled, and stuffed the kid in the stroller. He fiddled with some kind of electronic device, and then straps snapped tight around the kid, just as Elastigirl came running up to them.

"We'll take over getting the animals back to their enclosures," Elastigirl said. "You get Jack-Jack home."

"Right. Come on, Jack-Jack. Num-nums in the car!" he proclaimed dramatically, running for the parking lot, Jack-Jack giggling wildly from the stroller. "Thanks, honey! " Mr. Incredible said, waving at the two of them before dragging the stroller with him to the parking lot.

"Ready to round up the rest of the animals?" Elastigirl asked as she stared at her rapidly disappearing husband.

"Absolutely." Karen said, pushing up the sleeves on her shirt. "Let's talk to the zoo people and find out how we can help them fix this mess."

* * *

Alex, the lead animal handler, was already on it, and the sloth and giraffes back in their environments. Karen helped with the squirrel monkeys, creating voids that dropped them safely into a transportation crate. 

"Coming through," Elastigirl yelled. 

Karen looked up and saw Elastigirl stretching herself out like a huge fan behind a baby elephant, herding it back to the elephant barn. As soon as Karen saw them, she ran down the path ahead of them and opened a void in the fence. The baby trumpeted its delight as it saw its mom through the opening, and ran the rest of the way home.

When they were through, Karen sank exhaustedly into the shade alongside Elastigirl. The zoo's entry courtyard was empty now, visitors sent back at their homes and the zoo employees returning to their animals; the Elasticycle and its sidecar the only vehicles left in the visitor section. She couldn't count the number of voids she'd created today. "That was different."

"Wasn't it? Never a dull moment with Jack-Jack." Elastigirl tried for chipper, but she sounded exhausted too.

"It reminded me of being a teenager back in Hillsdale, when I would go places with my folks. I snuck in some void practice around them, always trying to help people when I could." She shrugged. "I know they just wanted to keep me safe, but I couldn't stop. I'm a super, and I couldn't stop myself from being one, not even for them."

"You've got to be who you are. Bob and I fought a lot about what it meant to be a super, after the superhero prohibition was in place. He couldn't give up helping people, even when he couldn't use his powers. I wanted him to stop, said it was going to destroy the family." Elastigirl looked over at her. "I was wrong to ask him to be something different from who he was. I think your parents were wrong to ask the same of you."

Elastigirl looked away, and Karen gasped. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.

"Hey, you wanna take the long way home?" Elastigirl said, changing the subject. "I need to make a quick stop at E's place."

"Sounds great," Karen said, wondering if her legs would support her weight when she stood. "I don't think I can manage another void today."

"No problem. Bob can take you back to the city later, or you can spend the night if you want. We've got the room."

Karen's heart fluttered as Elastigirl started the cycle. She felt proud of the work she'd done today, and Helen's approval more than made up for the crappiness of the last couple of days.

She'd deal with her costume later. It really wasn't that important.

* * *

On the way to E's place, Karen found herself nodding off. She was so sleepy by the time that they arrived, that she waved off Elastigirl's invite to come in, and settled back in the sidecar just to rest and look around. The view was amazing from here, and the square topiary trees utterly fascinating. A gentle breeze rustled their leaves as the late afternoon sun warmed her, so she closed her eyes for a bit. She only realized that she'd dropped off when the sound of scurrying feet roused her.

"Hmph." A tiny woman with short dark hair was staring intently at her. "I hope you are more aware the next time I see you."

Karen was still processing that she had seen Edna Mode when Elastigirl dumped a pile of fabric swatches into the sidecar. "Here. E has agreed to be your designer too. She says these are all remnants and that you can pick and choose colors, but she has the ultimate say in what you wear."

Elastigirl hesitated before getting on the cycle. "It's not like getting a fitting from Galbaki though. E will make you demonstrate all aspects of your powers, including some that she will think up on the spot. It's exhausting, but the suit is guaranteed not to shrink, fade, dissolve or fall apart. Her only absolute rule is 'no capes.'"

Karen felt her mouth drop open as she looked at the fabric. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. She hates capes." Elastigirl -- Helen -- gave her a broad wink. "I told her that we considered you part of the family."

"So...what? I'm your sidekick now?" She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"You're not a sidekick. You are a hero in your own right, and I wouldn't take that away from you. No, you're now officially a member of the Incredibles household, at least as far as the superhero oversight committee is concerned." She held out a small patch with a stylized house on it, where the chimney and smoke formed a giant "I." "Edna is going to put this on your supersuit, so everyone knows you’re part of the team."

Karen took the patch reverently. "You are super-corny sometimes, you know that?"

Helen slung an arm around Karen and gave her a hug. "It's just what moms do, I guess."

"Enough with the hugs, _Mom_."

Elastigirl laughed. "Okay, then. You and Violet can commiserate over 'mom hugs' in public. She should be getting home soon."

As they headed back to base, Karen peeked at the patch clutched in her hand and smiled.

The end.


End file.
